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#### 2.1.2 Trait Ontology Table

MetaQTL can also use a trait ontology in order to group the QTL in trait categories. The ontology representation handled by MetaQTL is based on a simple hierarchy (such as a taxonomy) where each child has a unique parent. The table which stores the trait ontology is defined by the following fields:

- term_id(integer): the unique identifier of the term.
- term_name(string): the name of the term, i.e the trait name.
- parent_id(integer): the identifier of the unique parent of this term (required except for the root of the ontology).
- synonyms(string): the synonyms of the trait name separated by a coma (then the synonyms must not contain any coma).
- definition(string): the definition of the trait.

For example:

         term_id   term_name   parent_id   synonyms   definition
         1       my_ontology
         2       flowering_time          1
         3       days_to_pollon_shed     2
         4       plant_height            2
         5       leaf_number             2
         6       silking_date            2

REMARK: The trait ontology must always be rooted (in the previous example the root was `my_ontology`). Generally, The root is not itself a trait but the name of the ontology.